Inter Press ServiceVideo – Inter Press Servicehttp://www.ipsnews.net News and Views from the Global SouthMon, 19 Mar 2018 11:32:08 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.5World Water Day 22 Marchhttp://www.ipsnews.net/2018/03/world-water-day-22-march/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=world-water-day-22-march http://www.ipsnews.net/2018/03/world-water-day-22-march/#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 11:22:45 +0000IPS World Deskhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=154882World Water Day, on 22 March every year, is about focusing attention on the importance of water. The theme for World Water Day 2018 is ‘Nature for Water’ – exploring nature-based solutions to the water challenges we face in the 21st century.

World Water Day, on 22 March every year, is about focusing attention on the importance of water. The theme for World Water Day 2018 is ‘Nature for Water’ – exploring nature-based solutions to the water challenges we face in the 21st century.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2018/03/world-water-day-22-march/feed/0Wake Up And Stop Rohingya Abuseshttp://www.ipsnews.net/2018/02/wake-stop-rohingya-abuses/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wake-stop-rohingya-abuses http://www.ipsnews.net/2018/02/wake-stop-rohingya-abuses/#respondTue, 27 Feb 2018 14:32:58 +0000Staff Correspondenthttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=154518“This is clearly, clearly, clearly genocide that is going on by the Burmese government and military against the Rohingya people."

No one would realise better than a woman how it feels when a child is snatched away from the arms of a mother and slaughtered, a man is murdered before the eyes of his wife, or a girl is raped.

That is what happened to countless Rohingya women back in Rakhine State of Myanmar.

As three Nobel laureates listened to such harrowing tales of tortured women and children one by one in the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, they could not hold tears back.

The trio, all of them mother themselves, then urged Myanmar’s de facto leader and their fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to speak out about violence against the Rohingyas, often dubbed one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.

They implored her to “wake up” to the brutalities, warning she otherwise risks prosecution for “genocide”.

The three Nobel Peace Prize winners — Tawakkol Karman, Shirin Ebadi and Mairead Maguire — demanded those responsible for the atrocities in Rakhine should be hauled to the International Criminal Court.

“We appeal to Aung San Suu Kyi, our sister laureate. Think of your children being pulled off your arms, because you are a mother, and massacred and villages burnt,” said Maguire, who is from Northern Ireland.

“Don’t deny the Rohingya people their right to life,” she said in an emotion-choked voice after listening to the Rohingya women at Thyangkhali refugee camp in Ukhia of Cox’s Bazar yesterday.

A violent military crackdown launched last August sent 700,000 Rohingyas fleeing to Bangladesh, sparking an unprecedented humanitarian emergency in the border district where the refugees are now sheltered in teeming, squalid camps.

Accounts of mass killing, rape, looting, burning of villages and shooting of civilians kept coming with the refugees over the months, while global condemnation poured in for the army campaign which the UN termed a “textbook case of ethnic cleansing”.

Nobel Peace Laureate from Northern Ireland Mairead Maguire talking to a Rohingya refugee during her visit to Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia on Sunday. Photo: AFP/collected

Yemen’s Tawakkol Karman said it is time Aung San Suu Kyi woke up, or she will be one of the perpetrators of the crime.

“If she could not stop all this crime, she has to resign now. It is very important,” she said, adding Suu Kyi otherwise could be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court.

“We, women Nobel laureates, call for those criminals prosecuted at the ICC … so we don’t expect our sister Aung San Suu Kyi to be one of them in the future. If she will continue her silence, she will be one of them.”

The Nobel laureates came to Bangladesh on Saturday and began a visit to the Rohingya camps to assess the allegations of violence against Rohingya women and the overall refugee situation.

The Nobel Women’s Initiative, a platform of six female peace laureates established in 2006, is organising the visit in partnership with Naripokkho. On Sunday, they visited the refugee camps in Kutupalang and Balukhali.

They held a meeting with Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Abul Kalam in Cox’s Bazar yesterday morning and visited the refugee camps in Thyangkhali.

The three laureates, who all through their lives have fought for human rights and democracy, expressed their anger at the inaction of world leaders over the Myanmar crisis.

The UN Security Council discussed the Rohingya issue several times but failed to take any concrete action against Myanmar that had denied the minority people citizenship and rights to education, movement, healthcare etc.

The Rohingyas have been fleeing since 1980s and the latest influx that began on August 25 last year is the largest, raising the number of refugees in Bangladesh to over a million.

In the first 10 days of this month, about 1,500 Rohingya crossed over from Myanmar.

‘CLEARLY GENOCIDE’

“Every single woman we met said they were raped, they lost families. One woman’s baby was taken off and butchered by the Myanmar soldiers. This is clearly clearly clearly genocide that is going on by the Burmese government and military against the Rohingya people,” added Maguire.

Terming it an orchestrated attempt to remove the Rohingyas out of Myanmar and out of history, she said the Nobel laureates reject the genocide policy of Myanmar.

“We reject this genocide policy of the Burmese government. They will be taken to the ICC and those who are committing genocide will be held responsible.

“As a human family, we cannot allow genocide of a whole people. The world must act,” said Maguire, who spent her life in bearing witness to oppression and standing in solidarity with people living in conflicts.

“We have, as a human family, to remove impunity because a people and military think they can kill and slaughter little children because this is a slaughtering way of allegiance in a massive massive scale. Where is our world going?”

She further said, “The international community has to say enough is enough and we all have to raise our voices and not remain any more silent.”

Yemen’s Tawakkol Karman said the Rohingyas are really facing genocide, a massacre, but the international community has “disappeared”.

“It is shame for all of us, for the international community that they are silent in front of the genocide,” she said, calling for the perpetrators of the crimes to be held accountable and tried at the international court.

The first Arab woman to win Nobel Peace Prize, Karman said the sufferings of the Rohingyas have been going on for decades under the eyes of the world.

“Now we are seeing an ethnic cleansing. That’s shameful with the world, shameful that these women have been raped and their children slaughtered. The worst crime is that they have been displaced from their homes, their country.

“Now this is a real real appeal to the international community, the UN and the Security Council to wake up. It is the time now to wake up.”

Later, Karman told the Thomson Reuters Foundation she had spoken to 15 women who said their husbands and some of their children had been killed, and they had been raped repeatedly by soldiers.

“You can’t imagine what we heard today,” said Karman, who won Nobel Peace in 2011 for her nonviolent struggle for the safety of women rights and peace-building in Yemen.

Iran’s Shirin Ebadi said that as members of international community it is their upmost demand Myanmar military be taken to the International Court of Justice.

“We are all paving the way for that,” said Ebadi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for promoting human rights, in particular the rights of the women, children and political prisoners.

Meanwhile, she said, Rohingya refugees are still coming into Bangladesh that must stop because it is not good for the minority group and it also creates intense pressure on the people of Bangladesh.

The Nobel laureates expressed gratitude to Bangladesh government and people for their generosity in hosting the refugees, and urged the UN and international community to ensure the Rohingyas have basic needs and services.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2018/02/nobel-women-laureates-zero-point-rohingya-refugees/feed/0Inspiring Dutch Woman Lives for Bangladeshi Children with Disabilitieshttp://www.ipsnews.net/2018/02/inspiring-dutch-woman-lives-bangladeshi-children-disabilities/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=inspiring-dutch-woman-lives-bangladeshi-children-disabilities http://www.ipsnews.net/2018/02/inspiring-dutch-woman-lives-bangladeshi-children-disabilities/#respondWed, 21 Feb 2018 15:42:18 +0000Khalid Hussainhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=154447Meet Antoinette Termoshuizen, a Dutch woman more popularly known as ‘Khalamma’, who has spent the last 20 years of her life making life better for children with disabilities in Bangladesh. This is the amazing story of Antoinette, now living in Ghior of Manikganj, where she has been relentlessly helping to educate and rehabilitate children with […]

Meet Antoinette Termoshuizen, a Dutch woman more popularly known as ‘Khalamma’, who has spent the last 20 years of her life making life better for children with disabilities in Bangladesh.

This is the amazing story of Antoinette, now living in Ghior of Manikganj, where she has been relentlessly helping to educate and rehabilitate children with physical and mental challenges.

She started off in 1998, under the banner of Niketan, with 10 physically and mentally challenged children. Since then on, in the road down to 20 years, her programme in Dhaka and Manikganj has become home to more than 500 disabled children.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2018/02/inspiring-dutch-woman-lives-bangladeshi-children-disabilities/feed/0Shakrain: The Festival of Kite, Light and Firehttp://www.ipsnews.net/2018/01/shakrain-festival-kite-light-fire/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=shakrain-festival-kite-light-fire http://www.ipsnews.net/2018/01/shakrain-festival-kite-light-fire/#respondSun, 21 Jan 2018 15:45:16 +0000Ananta Yusuf and Khalid Hussainhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=154277Have you ever seen Dhaka’s sky flooded with kites, lights and fireworks? This year the celebration of Poush Sankranti (the end of Bengali month Poush) popularly known as Shakrain or Ghuri Utshob brings life to the most congested part of the Old Dhaka. In recent times, apart from colourful kites flying in the sky, people […]

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2018/01/shakrain-festival-kite-light-fire/feed/0VIDEO: The Rohingyas ‘Long March to Freedom’http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/12/rohingyas-long-march-freedom/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rohingyas-long-march-freedom http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/12/rohingyas-long-march-freedom/#respondWed, 13 Dec 2017 10:14:30 +0000IPS World Deskhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=153518Over 800 000 of the 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims from the Rakhine state in Myanmar have been on the run for years, fleeing by foot, walking for days at end to seek a safe place for their women and children. Described as ‘wretched of the earth’ they are unwanted in Myanmar and across the border […]

Over 800 000 of the 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims from the Rakhine state in Myanmar have been on the run for years, fleeing by foot, walking for days at end to seek a safe place for their women and children.

Described as ‘wretched of the earth’ they are unwanted in Myanmar and across the border in Bangladesh where they have have taken shelter.

Although their origins trace back to the Eighth century Arakan, where their ancestors were British subjects over the past seven decades they have lived lives of lesser human beings in the Rakhine state. Rohingyas are stateless today. Driven out of their homes, their ‘long march to freedom’ leaves them in a state of hopelessness.

As the Rohingyas fled their burning homes, images of violence against them showed how one-day old twins were being transported to safety in a coir basket while in another image a rickety son carried in baskets hanging at two ends of a bamboo pole his too-frail-to-walk parents. He had fear in his eyes but he did not abandon his parents only to protect only himself; he is a hero.

The speed and scale of the influx has made the Rohingya crisis the world’s gravest refugee crisis and a major humanitarian emergency, the largest and fastest flow of destitute people across a border since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

With each passing day, the numbers are increasing and the government of Bangladesh, local charities and volunteers, the United Nations and NGOs are working in overdrive to provide assistance and hope.

Is there an end in sight ? The origin of the crisis and thus the solution to this crisis lies with the authorities in Myanmar. Can world leaders, Nobel laureates and citizens around the world bring about an end to the human rights violations against the Rohingyas?

The Global Green Growth Institute, in partnership with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, held Global Green Growth Week 2017 from 17-20 October 2017, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Attended by GGGI members, stakeholders from the public and private sectors, international organizations, and civil society, the GGGWeek2017 sought to strengthen and catalyze green growth in Africa under the theme “Unlocking Africa’s Green Growth Potential”.

In this video, Dr. Frank Rijsberman, GGGI Director General, speaks about the successes, lessons and opportunities that emerged from GGGWeek2017.

Over 600 government, think tank, private sector and other delegates from 40 countries attended the Global Green Growth Week (GGGW) 2017, 17 – 20 hosted by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). Among key discussions was Africa’s Green Energy Challenges and Off-Grid Solutions. According to Cathy Oxby from Africa GreenCo, public-private partnerships could extend cheaper energy to consumers and help close the gap in cost currently covered by subsidies.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/10/cathy-oxby-africa-greenco-public-private-partnerships-extend-cheaper-energy-consumers/feed/0Senegal is quickly adopting green growth as key to its national development strategyhttp://www.ipsnews.net/2017/10/senegal-quickly-adopting-green-growth-key-national-development-strategy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=senegal-quickly-adopting-green-growth-key-national-development-strategy http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/10/senegal-quickly-adopting-green-growth-key-national-development-strategy/#respondMon, 30 Oct 2017 13:56:25 +0000IPS World Deskhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=154310Senegal is quickly adopting green growth as key to its national development strategy. According to Dr. Mahamadou Tounkara, the country already has lessons to share with the rest of Africa, key among them innovative financing strategies and greening cities. In this interview held on the sidelines of the 17-20 October GGGWeek2017, hosted by the Global […]

Senegal is quickly adopting green growth as key to its national development strategy. According to Dr. Mahamadou Tounkara, the country already has lessons to share with the rest of Africa, key among them innovative financing strategies and greening cities.

In this interview held on the sidelines of the 17-20 October GGGWeek2017, hosted by the Global Green Growth Institute in partnership with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Tounkara discusses Senegal’s successes and green growth opportunities.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/10/senegal-quickly-adopting-green-growth-key-national-development-strategy/feed/0John Macomber from Harvard Business School talks about the role of educational institutions in addressing Africa’s green energyhttp://www.ipsnews.net/2017/10/john-macomber-harvard-business-school-talks-role-educational-institutions-addressing-africas-green-energy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=john-macomber-harvard-business-school-talks-role-educational-institutions-addressing-africas-green-energy http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/10/john-macomber-harvard-business-school-talks-role-educational-institutions-addressing-africas-green-energy/#respondMon, 30 Oct 2017 13:45:21 +0000IPS World Deskhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=154305The Global Green Growth Week 2017, held 17-20 October 2017, by the Global Green Growth Institute in partnership with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, explored a number of topics, among them Africa’s Green Energy Challenges and Off-Grid Solutions. In this interview, John Macomber from Harvard Business School talks about the […]

The Global Green Growth Week 2017, held 17-20 October 2017, by the Global Green Growth Institute in partnership with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, explored a number of topics, among them Africa’s Green Energy Challenges and Off-Grid Solutions. In this interview, John Macomber from Harvard Business School talks about the role of educational institutions in addressing Africa’s green energy challenges and off-grid.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/10/john-macomber-harvard-business-school-talks-role-educational-institutions-addressing-africas-green-energy/feed/0Prof. Nii O. Attoh Okine, from the University of Delaware addresses the issue of capacity development and investment in Africahttp://www.ipsnews.net/2017/10/prof-nii-o-attoh-okine-university-delaware-addresses-issue-capacity-development-investment-africa/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=prof-nii-o-attoh-okine-university-delaware-addresses-issue-capacity-development-investment-africa http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/10/prof-nii-o-attoh-okine-university-delaware-addresses-issue-capacity-development-investment-africa/#respondMon, 30 Oct 2017 10:35:00 +0000IPS World Deskhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=154317Prof. Nii O. Attoh Okine – Under the theme “Unlocking Africa’s Green Growth Potential”, GGGWeek2017, held 17-20 October 2017 by the Global Green Growth Institute in partnership with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, tackled a number of key topics, among them Africa’s Green Energy Challenges and Off-Grid Solutions. In an interview with IPS, Prof. […]

Prof. Nii O. Attoh Okine – Under the theme “Unlocking Africa’s Green Growth Potential”, GGGWeek2017, held 17-20 October 2017 by the Global Green Growth Institute in partnership with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, tackled a number of key topics, among them Africa’s Green Energy Challenges and Off-Grid Solutions.

In an interview with IPS, Prof. Nii O. Attoh Okine, from the University of Delaware addresses the issue of capacity development and investment in Africa toward green energy solutions.

Public-private partnerships and China-Africa collaboration towards green growth on the continent were popular themes during the 17-20 October Global Green Growth Week 2017 forum hosted by the Global Green Growth Institute in partnership with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Coskal Ethiopia, which has been operational for over 60 years was amongst private sector partners that participated. In this video, Kiriakos Armenakis, Coskal Principal, explains how China-Africa partnerships in infrastructure development have facilitated the ease of doing business in the region.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/10/global-green-growth-week-2017-highlights/feed/0World Food Day 2017 – Change the future of migration. Invest in food security and rural developmenthttp://www.ipsnews.net/2017/10/world-food-day-2017-change-future-migration-invest-food-security-rural-development/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=world-food-day-2017-change-future-migration-invest-food-security-rural-development http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/10/world-food-day-2017-change-future-migration-invest-food-security-rural-development/#respondMon, 09 Oct 2017 10:18:38 +0000IPS World Deskhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=152395Large movements of people is one of the most complex challenges the world faces today. In recent years there has been a huge increase in the number of people migrating around the world. Why is this happening and do they have a choice of staying in their own homes ? Addressing migration is an important […]

Large movements of people is one of the most complex challenges the world faces today. In recent years there has been a huge increase in the number of people migrating around the world. Why is this happening and do they have a choice of staying in their own homes ?

About one-third of all international migrants are aged 15-34 years. Nearly half are women.

The United Nations estimates that more than 60 million, or nearly 1 in 100 people worldwide, have been forced to flee their homes due to increased conflict and political instability. That’s more than at any time since the Second World War.

Hunger, poverty, and an increase in extreme weather events linked to climate change are other important factors contributing to the migration challenge.

Almost three-quarters of the extreme poor base their livelihoods on agriculture or other rural activities. Creating conditions that allow rural people, especially youth, to stay at home when they feel it is safe to do so, and to have more resilient livelihoods, is an essential component of responding to the migration challenge.

Rural development can address factors that compel people to move by creating business opportunities and jobs for young people.

The international community can also harness migration’s potential by investing in rural development and building the resilience of displaced and host communities, thereby laying the ground for long-term recovery and inclusive and sustainable growth.

This year the theme for World Food Day, celebrated annually on 16 October – a date commemorating the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945 – will focus on the link between migration, food security and sustainable rural development.

The drivers and impacts of migration are intimately linked to fighting hunger and achieving food security, reducing rural poverty and promoting the sustainable use of natural resources

The Global Green Growth Institute in partnership with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia will hold Global Green Growth Week 2017 on October 17-20, 2017, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

#GGGWeek2017 will gather GGGI members, stakeholders from the public and private sectors, international organizations, and civil society to strengthen and catalyze green growth in Africa and globally in order to achieve Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement and make progress on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

#GGGWeek2017 will address a number of key topics, including: Mobilizing green/climate finance to bankable projects in developing countries; Sustainably managing resources to address water and food security challenges; and Developing and adopting policies that drive environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive economic growth.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/10/global-green-growth-week-2017-unlocking-africas-greengrowth-potential-october-17-20-addis-ababa-ethiopia/feed/0Only Days Old and Fleeing for Their Liveshttp://www.ipsnews.net/2017/09/days-old-fleeing-lives/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=days-old-fleeing-lives http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/09/days-old-fleeing-lives/#respondTue, 12 Sep 2017 04:51:08 +0000Star Online Reporthttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=152046A video of twin babies, not more than a few days old, brought along with the fleeting mass of Rohingyas has taken the internet by sympathy. United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) released a video of the twins taken to a refugee camp in Bangladesh in a basket. According to UN estimates, over 300,000 […]

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/09/days-old-fleeing-lives/feed/0Europe, New Border of Africa’s ‘Great Desert’ – The Saharahttp://www.ipsnews.net/2017/09/europe-new-border-africas-great-desert-sahara/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=europe-new-border-africas-great-desert-sahara http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/09/europe-new-border-africas-great-desert-sahara/#respondTue, 05 Sep 2017 03:57:31 +0000Baher Kamalhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=151910With the highest temperatures on record and unprecedented heat waves hitting Europe this year, Africa’s ‘Great Desert’, the Sahara, is set continue its relentless march on the Southern European countries until it occupies more than 30 per cent of Spain just three decades from now. The Sahara is the largest hot desert on Earth, covering […]

With the highest temperatures on record and unprecedented heat waves hitting Europe this year, Africa’s ‘Great Desert’, the Sahara, is set continue its relentless march on the Southern European countries until it occupies more than 30 per cent of Spain just three decades from now.

The Sahara is the largest hot desert on Earth, covering more than 9,000 square kilometres, comparable to the surface of China or the United States. Called originally in Arabic “Al Sahara Al Kubra’ (the Great Desert), it comprises much of North Africa, the Atlas Mountains of the Maghreb, and the Nile Valley in Egypt and Sudan.

Land Degradation Neutrality – UNCCD

It stretches from the Red Sea in the West and the Mediterranean in the North to the Atlantic Ocean in the West, including 10 countries: Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, and Tunisia.

For its part, the European Union’s RECARE project (Preventing and Remediating degradation of soil in Europe through Land Care), estimates that 20 per cent of all Europe’s land surface is already subject to erosion rates above 10,000 hectares per year, while soil sealing (the permanent covering of soil with an impermeable material) leads to the loss of more than 1,000 sq km of productive land each year.

The European Union also reports that between 1990 and 2000, at least 275 hectares of soil were lost per day in the EU, amounting to 1,000 sq km per year. Between 2000 and 2006, the EU average loss increased by 3 per cent, but by 14 per cent in Ireland and Cyprus, and by 15 per cent in Spain.

Africa

Meantime, Africa is prey to a steady process of advancing droughts and desertification, posing one of the most pressing challenges facing the 54 African countries, home to more than 1.2 billion people.

Right now, two-thirds of Africa is already desert or dry-lands. While this land is vital for agriculture and food production, nearly three-fourths of it is estimated to be degraded.

Asia

In a parallel process, desertification manifests itself in many different forms across the vast region of Asia and the Pacific, the United Nations reports. Out of a total land area of 4.3 billion hectares reaching from the Mediterranean coast to the shores of the Pacific, Asia contains some 1.7 billion hectares of arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid land.

Land degradation varies across the region. There are expanding deserts in China, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan, encroaching sand dunes in Syria, steeply eroded mountain slopes of Nepal, and deforested and in Laos and overgrazed in central Asia counties. In terms of the number of people affected by desertification and drought, Asia is the most severely affected continent.

#UNCCDCOP13: 6-16 September 2017, Ordos, China

In 2015, Asia-Pacific continued to be the world’s most disaster-prone region. Some 160 disasters were reported in the region, accounting for 47 per cent of the world’s 344 disasters.

The region bore the brunt of large-scale catastrophic disasters with over 16,000 fatalities — more than a two-fold increase since 2014. South Asia accounted for a staggering 64 per cent of total global fatalities — the majority was attributed to the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal in April, which caused 8,790 deaths.

The Convention will also highlight to political leaders, decision makers, experts and civil society organisations participating in COP13 the fact that Africa is severely affected by frequent droughts, which have been particularly severe in recent years in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel.

And that the consequences are there: widespread poverty, hard socio-economic conditions, and many people dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods.

For many African countries, says UNCCD, fighting land degradation and desertification and mitigating the effects of drought are prerequisites for economic growth and social progress.

But not all news is bad news. In fact, increasing sustainable land management (SLM) and building resilience to drought in Africa can have profound positive impacts that reach from the local to the global level.

Since the adoption of the UNCCD’s 10-Year Strategy, the sub-regional entities have begun aligning their action programmes to it, particularly the North, Central and Western African programmes. The other two sub-regions have already benefited from training by the UNCCD on how to align their programmes to the Strategy.

Similar actions to mitigate, halt and prevent the widespread process of advancing droughts and desertification are being implemented in all other impacted regions, and further efforts will be required. Not an easy task for decision-makers in this COP 13 in Ordos, China.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/09/europe-new-border-africas-great-desert-sahara/feed/0On Climate Finance, “The SIDS Can’t Wait”http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/08/climate-finance-sids-cant-wait/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=climate-finance-sids-cant-wait http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/08/climate-finance-sids-cant-wait/#respondMon, 28 Aug 2017 13:33:16 +0000Desmond Brownhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=151812Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Allen Chastanet warns that the clock is running out for small states such as those in the Caribbean as they struggle to develop infrastructure capable of withstanding changes in weather conditions – and that wealthier nations need to step up levels of aid. “There is no greater example of that than […]

Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Allen Chastanet warns that the clock is running out for small states such as those in the Caribbean as they struggle to develop infrastructure capable of withstanding changes in weather conditions – and that wealthier nations need to step up levels of aid.

“There is no greater example of that than what took place in Haiti,” Chastanet said, referring to Hurricane Matthew, which wreaked a billion dollars worth of damage to the impoverished island last October.

“Did we not know that Haiti was in a hurricane belt? Did we not know that there was clearly a trend of increasing storms? That all we needed was a trough? What took place last year, the world and all of us must bear responsibility for. The Haitian people were left to confront one of the strongest and most devastating hurricanes we have seen in a long time with cardboard boxes.”

St. Lucia was also hit by Matthew when it was still categorized as a tropical storm. The island experienced the most severe effects among Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) nations, with damage to homes and businesses accompanied by blocked roads and flooding.

Chastanet, who was speaking at a ceremony for the exchange of notes for Japanese grant aid of EC$35 million to the government of St. Lucia for the reconstruction of two major bridges, said time is of the essence.

“Time is against us. I say all of this to underscore that point and for us not to take for granted the significance of today. It is very easy for us to continue to come to these signings of agreements and almost take it for granted what we are receiving. This project has the opportunity and potential to protect the lives and the assets of many people,” he said.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/08/climate-finance-sids-cant-wait/feed/02017 World Water Week: ‘Water and Waste: Reduce and Reuse’http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/08/2017-world-water-week-water-waste-reduce-reuse/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2017-world-water-week-water-waste-reduce-reuse http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/08/2017-world-water-week-water-waste-reduce-reuse/#respondTue, 22 Aug 2017 13:25:22 +0000IPS World Deskhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=151768With a growing global population, a rise in energy and industrial production, the demand for water is reaching new levels. By 2050 it is expected that approximately 6.4 billion people will live in cities, making urban water management an essential building block for resilience and sustainable growth. Cities are increasingly recognized as critical to achieving […]

With a growing global population, a rise in energy and industrial production, the demand for water is reaching new levels.

By 2050 it is expected that approximately 6.4 billion people will live in cities, making urban water management an essential building block for resilience and sustainable growth.

Cities are increasingly recognized as critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. While wastewater isn’t only an urban challenge, cities can serve as a hub for wastewater innovation.

Water supply, sanitation and storm water are integral components of the urban water system. New approaches to ‘smart cities’, with greater emphasis on integrated urban water and wastewater management, are required..

Success in urban water management relies on people, good governance and cross-sectoral collaboration.

When properly harnessed, wastewater is an affordable and sustainable source of water, energy, nutrients and other consumables. This is why the theme of this year’s World Water Week is ‘Water and waste: reduce and reuse’.

A circular economy, in which water and waste are reused and managed as economic assets, is an important part of the solution to this challenge.

Visit the Exhibit area where SIWI along with the Global Water Partnership and several stakeholders will share their knowledge and insights, bringing a diversity of perspectives to the World Water Week.

Water is key to our future prosperity, and together, we can achieve a water wise world.